PAN, December 2, 2012

Lawmakers-linked armed gangs threat peace in Daikundi

Over the past two weeks the gang had taken more than nine tonnes of wheat from the people using force and threaten people in the area too

By Hadi Ghafari

Residents in the central Daikundi accused some members of parliament in the province of supporting illegal armed groups who are disturbing peace in their area.

About 20 fighters under commander Mohammad Fairoz Rasuli in Sang Takh district robbed the people and took away 350 kg of wheat from the area, a tribal elder in Daikundi said on condition of anonymity.

Over the past two weeks the gang had taken more than nine tonnes of wheat from the people using force and threaten people in the area too, he added.

A civil society activist from the province, Mihdi Mudabbir, said Rasuli and another commander, Esmatullah, along with their fighters created problems for people in Bargar area in Sharistan, and residents could not come out of their houses at night.

Senator Ali Akbar Jamshedi said during his 20-day stay in his province, locals repeatedly complained to him that the illegal armed groups were supported by certain MPs from the province.

“I told the governor to identify the MPs names but no one had the courage to disclose their names,” he added.

He said the presence of these armed groups had only heightened insecurity in the province.

In a 11-page memorandum, local civil society and human rights groups have urged the government, local officials and MPs to address the issue and restore peace in the area.

They also asked the United Nations and other human rights organizations to pressure the government to address their plight.

However, lawmaker from Daikundi, Shirin Muhsini, said there were no witnesses to prove that MPs supported such armed groups in the province.